NEW DELHI: Students gathered in large numbers on Thursday for a general body meeting demanding the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU) and the announcement of an election schedule. The meeting at Ghalib Lawn was followed by a march in which students wore black coats, as the agitation on the campus intensified.
The mobilisation came a day after the university administration constituted a panel to reconstitute the students’ union. The varsity authorities also organised a counter march against the ongoing agitation. However, the students said the hunger strike would continue until the university notified the election schedule.
The meeting, called by several student organisations in support of the ongoing hunger strike, saw the participation of hundreds. Resolutions concerning the future structure and functioning of the union also surfaced in the meeting.
The protest assumes political significance as it drew leaders from different parties, with Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) president Vinod Jakhar visiting the campus. AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan also met Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif to raise the students’ demands.
The students’ mobilisation comes amid renewed pressure on the university to restore the elected representative body, whose elections have remained discontinued since 2006.
